Fort Smith National Historic Site, Arkansas

ARKANSAS LEGENDS

Fort Smith National Historic Site

On the isolated edge of the American Frontier, Fort Smith was established on Christmas day, 1817. Under the command of Major William Bradford, the soldiers’ initial task was to keep the peace between the Cherokee and Osage tribes. However, this function was short lived and the fort closed seven years later.

However, that was not to be the end. Two years after Arkansas gained statehood, an act of Congress approved a second fort in 1838. Designed as a massive fortification, the army was not nearly so enthusiastic for the rebuilding of the fort as were the politicians.

Fort Smith, October, 2007, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

Due to this reason, labor difficulties, and budget overruns, it would be eight years before it was completed.

When the garrison was finally done in 1846, less than half of the original number of buildings were constructed. The fortification wall, originally designed to be twelve feet high, ended up being anywhere from six to twelve feet tall and cannon platforms that were to be built at the corners of the fort, were never completed. Eventually, these platforms were converted into warehouses.

This second fort was designated as the "Motherpost of the Southwest" in the 1850’s, supplying military forts further to the West. During the Civil War, the fort became a focal point of operations, as both armies utilized the location.

When the war was over; however, the post began to lose its usefulness and within five years both Officers’ Quarters were destroyed in fires. In the summer of 1871, U.S. Army troops left Fort Smith for the final time.

However, the facility was not to be vacant for long. When the federal court was relocated to Fort Smith from Van Buren, it took up residence at the old fort. The federal court had jurisdiction over Indian Territory which had become filled outlaws who thought the laws did not apply to them.

Replacing Judge William Story, whose tenure had been marred by corruption, Judge Isaac Parker arrived at Fort Smith on May 4, 1875. For the next twenty-one years Parker served as Judge, later earning the nickname of "Hanging Judge" for the number of death sentences he handed down. During his tenure, 79 men were hanged at Fort Smith.

With the coming of federal courts in Indian Territory , Fort Smith's jurisdiction ended. Judge Parker died two months later.

Today, Fort Smith has been designated as National Historic Site, which includes the remains of the two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Fort Smith Gallows, October, 2007, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

Contact Information:

Fort Smith National Historic Site

P.O. Box 1406

301 Parker Avenue
Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901

479-783-3961

Is Fort Smith Haunted?

If it's Old West reputation isn't enough, the old courthouse is said to be haunted by none other than Judge Parker himself. Allegedly, many of those executed on these historic ground are also said lurk on the property.

Reader Update:

When I visited Fort Smith, Judge Parker's Courthouse was closed, so I walked around the building a bit. Of course, my interest was drawn to the large gallows. I believe that it was a replica, but I climbed the stairs and approached the cross beam, when I suddenly felt this chill, (on a very warm day), and a feeling that this was an evil area, and I quickly left and went to my nearby car. My wife, who also has a "sixth sense," as I and observed my movement on the scaffold, asked if I had felt something eerie, as she had. Maybe it just a fluke, but then again, some things cannot be explained. -- D. Ward Gagner, Bangor, Maine, November, 2007

Fort Smith Commissary Storehouse, October, 2007,

Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints and

downloads HERE!

Judge Parker's Court Room at Fort Smith, October, 2007,

Kathy Weiser.

Fort Smith Courthouse and Jail, circa 1875

Fort Smith Courthouse and Jail, circa 1875,

courtesy Fort Smith National Historic Site

Also See:

George Maledon - Prince of Hangmen

Heck Thomas - Tough Law in Indian Territory

Isaac Parker, the "Hanging Judge"

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